A federal investigation concluded that Exxon and its employees committed a long list of mistakes that led to the disaster, including failing to supervise a drunken shipmaster or acknowledging that the crew was overworked and exhausted.

The Plaintiff cites the following: "Under what is called international law, the law of the flag, a shipowner who sends his vessel into a foreign port gives notice by his flag to all who enter into contracts with the shipmaster that he intends the law of the flag to regulate those contracts with the shipmaster that he either submit to its operation or not contract with him or his agent at all."